


Vignette: Reclamation and Recovery

by butyoumight



Series: Shuffling Your Deck of Trick Cards [3]
Category: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-06
Updated: 2011-06-06
Packaged: 2017-10-20 04:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/208837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butyoumight/pseuds/butyoumight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>It dawned on him in stages, his conscious mind steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the obvious.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Vignette: Reclamation and Recovery

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Episode 15. AU as of Episode 16.

Marvelous hadn't been surprised that Basco's call had been baiting a trap, but what did catch him off guard was that he hadn't been lying outright. Of course, by the time he arrived, Zangyack's fleet was already amassing on the horizon, rushing ever closer. And so, for once in his life, Marvelous chose not to be showy. He knew that he didn't stand a chance if he tried to fight, that they were hopelessly outnumbered, but he also knew his beloved ship could out run any ship Zangyack tried to throw at them. He swooped in low, dropped a gangplank and no sooner had Navi alerted him that they were safely on board did he take off again at top speed, fleeing though his entire being felt cowardly doing it.

He took them away from Earth. Not far, and certainly not forever. He put them into orbit around another planet in the system. He liked the way the rings looked. Then he went to check on his crew.

It dawned on him in stages, his conscious mind steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the obvious.

First it was Ahim. She was crying, but they weren't tears of relief, or sobs of recovery after a harrowing ordeal. Either of those reactions would have made sense. Instead she was weeping openly into her hands. Marvelous had never seen her looking so undone, so discomposed.

Then it was Don. Leaning against the wall, chin to his chest, sniffling pathetically and wiping his nose periodically on his sleeve. Marvelous had certainly seen him cry before, but never so hopelessly.

Finally Luka, his strong proud Luka. She sat huddled on the floor, her arms around her knees, her shoulders shaking with stuttered breaths. She stared blankly at nothing, her eyes were red but dry, as if she had run out of tears.

And so there it was. Staring him in the face, so obvious. So very wrong. One, two and three.

It took him four tries and a concerted effort to form the words, and when they finally came out his voice sounded foreign to his own ears, strangled and pathetic and on the verge of tears himself.

"Where is he?"

None of them answered. None of them even looked at him, or made any indication that they'd heard him. Navi fluttered restlessly in a circle around the cabin before finally taking her usual perch on the back of his chair, her wings still flapping slowly. Sadly.

Marvelous punched the nearest wall, and the pain woke him up a little, though he'd just as soon stay asleep rather than live in this sudden and very real nightmare. " _Where is he_!?"

Still silence from the crew, a silence so thick and heavy that Marvelous could hear the whirring of the mechanics inside Navi. He cast his eyes around the room, at each member of the crew, but his eyes landed on Joe's damn bench. Mocking him. Marvelous growled, stalked over and with one hand flung the bench across the room with a thunderous crash.

Luka jumped at the sound, finally shocked out of her blank state. She rose swiftly to her feet, practically flew across the room. Marvelous didn't know what was happening at first, but he opened his arms to her and held her close to his chest as she shuddered against him. "He kept him." She finally gritted out, her voice sounding dry and strange, and not very much like Luka.

Marvelous hadn't realized what a weight he was holding on his heart until she spoke these words. Still holding Luka against him, he turned to look at the others. "Is this true?"

Don gave one last prodigious sniff and then finally looked up, nodding. Marvelous took a shaky breath, holding one hand out to Don. Don accepted the offer and Marvelous pulled him close, too. He finally turned to look at Ahim. She approached slowly, wiping her tears away with a lacy handkerchief, trying so hard to be reserved.

Luka pulled away enough for Ahim to squeeze in close between them, and they all just stood there for a moment, sharing their pain and fear.

"He's still alive?" Marvelous asked softly after a few minutes. There was a collective sigh, each of them taking a sharp breath and letting it out shakily.

Ahim finally answered him. "I believe Basco intends to... to _keep_ him." She sounded pained by her own words, as if the idea was offensive to her very sensibilities.

Marvelous felt as though his stomach had turned to ice, or steel. Something much heavier than it should be, anyway. He took a deep breath, muscled up a cocky smile for the sake of the crew, all of them having pulled back a bit, all of them looking at him with those nervous faces.

"So long as he lives, there's hope." Marvelous said. He pulled away from the group, moved to the helm, gripping to the podium until his knuckles turned white. He had to have hope, he had to believe that they would find and rescue his Joe. To the very end, until his dream came true, Joe had promised him that. Marvelous intended to see Joe fulfill that promise.

"Hope, hope." Navi echoed him, and he shot the bird a thankful smile.

"Bird. Find him."


End file.
